xii Preface 



characters are in the skeleton or bony 

 framework. 



The skeleton of "Nimr," like that of 

 other Arabs, is distinguished by one less 

 vertebra in the back, a point long ago 

 observed by Sanson as characteristic of 

 the North African horses. I also find that 

 in the fore leg the ulna, or small bone of 

 the fore leg, is complete, whereas in other 

 horses it ends in a splint. There are only 

 sixteen vertebrae in the tail, as compared 

 with eighteen in the tail of the horses of 

 northern Europe. Other characters are 

 the horizontal position of the pelvis, as 

 in most animals of great speed, the large 

 size of the brain case, relative shortness 

 of the skull, the slenderness of the lower 

 jaw. 



When one becomes once familiar with 

 the fine points of the Arab he can see 

 traces of the fine points of this breed 

 impressed everywhere: there is no ques- 

 tion that it has been the uplifting, en- 

 nobling quality which has been intro- 

 duced in the blood of commoner horses 



